Editorial: Transit plans are critical

Thursday

Jul 31, 2008 at 12:01 AMJul 31, 2008 at 10:40 AM

Two projects discussed Monday by Reps. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, and Jerrold Nadler, D-Manhattan, are necessary to improving the local transportation infrastructure and need to be kept in the forefront.

Two projects discussed Monday by Reps. Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, and Jerrold Nadler, D-Manhattan, are necessary to improving the local transportation infrastructure and need to be kept in the forefront.

Improvements to the North-South arterial through West Utica.

In addition to bisecting a neighborhood, this gauntlet of stoplights on an otherwise high-speed highway makes this a frustrating road for motorists and a dangerous road for residents who need to cross over day and night.

Despite a lower speed limit, there have been several fatalities, near-misses and numerous vehicular accidents since the poorly designed highway was built 40 years ago. One proposal to lower the highway beneath street level could not only speed traffic flow, but promote public safety and reconnect the neighborhood.

Improvements to Route 12 south between Utica and Binghamton.

This effort was initiated by former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, who had been a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Boehlert, along with U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, secured funding for several projects to upgrade the route, including $2.5 million to straighten a dangerous curve in the town of Paris. In the past, Boehlert said that five or six major improvements along the highway could trim 15 or 20 minutes off what can be a two-hour trip. That’s much more realistic than to expect funding to build a four-lane route south.

Upgrading the infrastructure will be good for the community not only in terms of public safety, but in the long run will help improve economic conditions by providing faster, more convenience ways to get there from here.